Love, Lies, & Crows
by lilyann78
Summary: Charlotte has a past...part of which she is running from. Where does she run to? Home to Charming California and the Sons of Anarchy. Will she find what she needs and is looking for or will that part of her past she is running from find her and destroy everything? Will she risk those she cares about just to be free from that past? Only time will tell. Juice/OC pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**Love, Lies, & Crows**

Chapter 1: Homecoming

Of all the times for her truck to break down it had to choose that moment. Sighing, the driver of the purple, four dour Chevy Silverado, pulled over on the side of the highway. After shutting it down, she looked at the time and swore under her breath. 10:13 pm. Her instincts told her that it was dangerous to be walking at this time of night but what else could she do. She was only about 2 miles away from town.

Her mind made up, she grabbed her backpack and began shoving stuff into it. Once she had everything else, she hopped out of the truck and grabbed her handgun from under the seat. After sticking it in the back of her waistband, slinging the backpack on her back, and locking up her truck, she began walking. She had only gotten short distance when the storm hit. Great…now not only was she taking a risk walking by herself at night, she was doing so in a thunderstorm.

Luckily, the storm blew over quickly. The woman continued her journey. All of her senses were on high alert. Every little sound caused her to jump and look around. On more than one occasion, she had reached for her gun but then saw it was only some leaves blowing across the road or a small animal nearby.

"Calm down. You are better than this. You can handle yourself. Just keep walking and get to your ass there." She told herself.

Her walk remained uneventful for about 20 minutes. Then she heard a familiar sound. The sound of a motorcycle coming from behind her. This time, she pulled her gun out and kept it down to her side. Just in case. She could not afford to be too relaxed. Caution was how she stayed alive. She didn't want to seem too paranoid but didn't want to keep her back to whoever was headed her way. Therefore, she did the only thing she could think of. She squatted down so that she was facing the road and thus could see the approaching motorcycle in her peripheral vision, and pretended to fix her shoelaces.

As the bike approached and pulled up beside her, she noticed the kutte the rider was wearing and relaxed. He was a member of SAMCRO but not one she recognized. Her luck was finally looking up. She just had to turn on the charm.

…

Juice was heading back into Charming when he saw a redheaded woman walking down the road. She had a backpack on her back and was sexy as hell. Without hesitating, he pulled up by her and stopped. The redhead looked up at him and flashed him the cutest smile ever. Juice didn't know what was happening but he felt his heart skip a beat when she smiled at him.

"Well hello there, Fella! I didn't think I'd see anyone else on this road tonight." The redhead said, smiling up at him.

"Just headed back home to Charming. What's a sexy girl like you, doing out her all alone? It's not safe." Juice replied, climbing off his bike and offering his hand to help her back to her feet. She took the offered hand and let him pull her to her feet.

"My truck broke down and I had no choice but to walk. I thought my luck was terrible tonight but it just might be changing. I was heading to Charming when it broke. It's too dark out here to try to fix it, so I decided to walk. It was that, or stay the night in my truck on the side of the road." She answered, giving him her sweetest smile.

"Well then, it's your lucky night after all. My name's Juice and I can give you a ride if you'd like. I'm sure we can get someone at TM to come tow your truck back to the shop for ya. If you need to, you can crash in my room for the night." Juice said.

She smiled brightly and giggled. "Pleasure to meet you, Juice. I'm Charlotte. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd appreciate it. TM is Teller-Morrow, right?"

Juice nodded and grabbed the extra helmet he happened to have with him. He handed it to her and then climbed back on his bike. He grinned as he watched her put the helmet on and walk over. Once she climbed on, he felt her arms snake around his waist and Juice took off towards TM.

…

Charlotte turned up the charm and scored herself a ride to her destination, Teller-Morrow and the SAMCRO clubhouse. The bonus was that not only would her arrival be a surprise, but the fellas would be shocked to see her show up on the back of this Juice fella's bike. This was going to be great!

The feel of the wind blowing her long, curly red hair behind her and blowing on her face as they sped down the road was exhilarating. It had been a while since she'd been on the back of a motorcycle like this and she had missed it. She just hoped that at the end of the ride, she'd be welcomed home.

So many things ran through her head as she held onto Juice. How much had things changed? Was Clay still the Pres? Was Jax and Tara still together? What were Opie, Chibs, Bobby, and Tig doing? She got lost in all the thoughts running through her head and didn't realize they had arrived at TM, until she felt the bike coming to a stop. Juice climbed off, removed his helmet and then helped her off the bike. Once on the ground safely, she removed the helmet he'd loaned her and handed it back.

"Thanks for the ride. Maybe we can do it again sometime." She smiled and winked at him.

She giggled when she saw him blush. Instead of getting a reply though, she watched him walk up to another club member who was sitting at the tables outside the clubhouse.

…

"Hey Prospect!" Juice greeted the prospect.

"Hey there Juice. Welcome home, Brother! Who's the hot mama you got with you? Is she a new Sweetbutt or something?" the prospect replied.

"Nah, she needs us to go tow her truck back here to the shop. I found her walking all by herself down the highway. Go grab the keys to the wrecker and let's go."

The prospect did as he was told and came back out with keys in hand. Juice smiled at Charlotte and motioned for her to join them.

"This is Half-Sack. Half-Sack, this is Charlotte. Ready to go get your truck?" Juice looked at Charlotte as she nodded. He led her to the wrecker.

Once the three of them were in the tow truck, it didn't take them long to get to Charlotte's truck and get it back to the garage. When they got out and were standing outside the clubhouse, Juice noticed Charlotte looking around nervously. She seemed scared a little bit and he assumed it was because of being at the SAMCRO clubhouse. He placed his hand on her arm gently and smiled at her.

"Hey, don't worry, you're safe here. You can crash here for the night and tomorrow Half-Sack and I will get that truck fixed for you. Most of the guys are out of town on business so it should be a quiet night. Are you hungry? The prospect can get you something to eat if you want."

"Thanks Juice. Food does sound good right now." Charlotte smiled as she followed Juice and Half-Sack inside.

…

After enjoying the mac and cheese that Half-Sack made for her, Charlotte sat around talking with him and Juice for a bit. The three of them had a great time just talking and laughing as Charlotte sat on the couch, leaning her head against Juice. He had his arm around her and they both seemed rather content for the moment. Charlotte yawned.

"Alright, Fellas, I think it's time I get some beauty sleep." Charlotte said while getting up and stretching. "Good night, thanks again for letting me crash here."

She grabbed her bag and headed to the room that Juice had told her she could crash in. It was right next to his which for some reason made her smile. Ugh. What was she doing? She just met the fella and just because he was SAMCRO didn't mean he was a good guy or that it was wise for her to get herself into anything. No, she needed to play it safe…guard her heart and keep it from falling. She couldn't let anyone else get hurt because of her. Sighing, she grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a tank top out of her bag and headed to the private bathroom.

After a nice hot shower, she snuggled into the bed, hugging her wolf stuffed animal close. It didn't take long for her to be sound asleep.

…

Juice woke up because of a blood-curdling scream. Without hesitating, he jumped out of bed and grabbed his gun. The scream sounded like it was coming from Charlotte's room. Had he put her in danger by bringing her here? Gun ready just in case, he headed the room next to his. He opened the door to find Charlotte alone in bed, clearly having a nightmare. Putting his gun on the nightstand, he sat down on the bed and gently pulling her towards him.

"Shhhh, Baby Girl. I got you. Juice has ya. You're safe now." He held her and stroked her hair, talking to her softly. She calmed down and opened her eyes, looking at him sheepishly. Juice just smiled down at her.

"Sorry for waking you up." She told him timidly.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's all good. Wanna talk about that nightmare?"

"Just a stupid nightmare. I have them a lot. Thanks for coming to my rescue though!" Charlotte smiled.

Dang, there was something about that smile of hers. Juice couldn't help but want to kiss her but he resisted the urge. After all, he had just met her and she wasn't one of the Crow Eaters. If Jax were in his shoes, he'd just go ahead and have a good time with her. But Juice wasn't Jax. He couldn't just have sex with her like that. Sure, he did it all the time with the Crow Eaters, hookers, and porn stars that hung around the clubhouse and other places the club members went, but there was something different about this girl. Reluctantly, he forced himself to let go of her and get up from the bed.

"Anytime, Darling." He smiled at her and then went to leave the room.

"Wait…don't leave me alone in here please?" she looked up at him with those emerald eyes, looking so innocent. How could he say no to that?

"Come on, you can stay in my room tonight. You'll be safe there." Juice smiled and held out his hand to her.

Smiling, she took his hand, grabbed her wolf, and followed him to his room.

…

Snuggling down into Juice's bed, Charlotte couldn't help but mentally yell at herself. Sure he'd been a perfect gentleman so far but what if that changed? She didn't know this fella. He could be just like…no she refused to let her thoughts wonder there. Besides, if he tried anything, he'd be dealt with. Smiling, she laid her head on his chest and allowed him to hold her as she slipped into a peaceful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I'm very excited about the reviews I received for the first chapter of this story. Thank you so much to all that left me reviews.**

 **I forgot the disclaimer on the first chapter but here it is… I do NOT own Sons of Anarchy. This includes the characters and any of the plot from the TV series. Those things belong to the brilliant Kurt Sutter and his crew. I own the plots and characters that I create.**

 **Now without further ado….**

 **Chapter 2: Welcome Home**

"Juice! Get your ass up! Clay wants us in church right now!"

Juice groaned as he was woken up by Happy pounding on his door and yelling at him. He opened his eyes and smiled. Charlotte was just waking up as well.

"How'd ya sleep, Darling?" Juice said as he got up out of the bed and threw on a pair of jeans and a SAMCRO t-shirt.

Charlotte stretched and smiled.

"Better than I have in a while. Thanks for letting me crash in here."

"Glad to help out. You're welcome to go back to sleep if you want. I have to go deal with club stuff. See ya in a bit." Juice told her as he walked out of his room, closing the door behind him.

Happy was waiting for him in the hall and they headed down the hall, to chapel. They were the last to arrive so the doors to the chapel were shut behind them and Clay began the meeting.

…...

Meanwhile, Charlotte decided to get up. She headed back to the room her things were in and hopped into the shower. She sighed contentedly as the hot water streamed down her neck and back. As she washing up, she stopped and ran her hand over the scars on her wrists and arms. Thank goodness Juice hadn't seemed to notice them or at least didn't question her about them. That was something she wasn't ready to talk about…especially with the club. Those fellas were likely to get upset with her if they knew the truth behind those marks.

Charlotte shook her head to rid herself of the painful memories haunting her. She wasn't going to allow herself to have a pity party and cry. No…she needed to get herself together and get ready to take on the day. This was a new day and she was home. She was safe now, she told herself.

Shutting off the shower, Charlotte grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her fiery red hair. After that, she grabbed another towel and dried herself off. Heading back into the bedroom, she rummaged through her backpack, pulling out a pair of clean panties and matching bra. Once those were on her body, she pulled out a pair of tight fitting black jeans that hugged her perfect curves, accentuating them nicely. Those were paired with an ACDC t-shirt and her favorite pull over hoodie, which was purple. The last part of her outfit consisted of a pair of black leather Harley boots.

Charlotte did a little twirl, checking herself out in the mirror and giggled. Happy with her outfit, she headed into the bathroom once more and combed out her long hair. Once it was hanging down in perfect ringlets with the sides up, she was ready to take on the day.

"Okay, Charlotte Ann, it's go time!" She said to her reflection.

With that, she turned on her heels and headed out of the room, making sure to close her door behind her. The place hadn't changed much in all the years she'd been away so she found the bar and lounge area without any trouble.

The fellas were still in church except for the prospect since it was against the rules for prospects to be in there. Instead, he was behind the bar cleaning and stocking it. Charlotte looked around and sighed. What could she possibly do to entertain herself? She could play a round of pool by herself. Nah…that wouldn't be fun.

After looking around, she decided to put on some music on her phone and popped in her ear buds. She smiled at Half-Sack as she walked over and grabbed a broom from the supply closet.

"Hey, what are doing? How did you even know where that was? The guys are gonna be pissed if they see you cleaning. That's my job." Half-Sack was saying frantically.

Charlotte just laughed and pointed to the earbuds, pretending she couldn't hear him. As she swept the floor, she began dancing with the broom singing along to the music blaring in her ears.

"Clock strikes upon the hour and the sun begins to fade. Still enough time to figure out how to chase my blues away. I've done alright up to now. It's the light of day that shows me how. And when the night falls, loneliness calls. Oh, I wanna dance with somebody. I wanna feel the heat with somebody.  
Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody. With somebody who loves me. Oh, I wanna dance with somebody. I wanna feel the heat with somebody. Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody. With somebody who loves me…"

Half-Sack laughed as he watched her dancing around the room with the broom and listened to her singing. She had went from singing a Whitney Houston song to singing Sweet Child O' Mine. All the while, she continued to sweep. She smiled to herself. She really was feeling more comfortable and safe than she had in a very long time. Maybe coming here was the right decision…but what if her past caught up with her again… No! She wasn't going to allow herself to think like that. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she changed the song to Pour Some Sugar On Me.

She had finished sweeping and was dancing around the room to the song when the chapel doors opened and the fellas started coming out of the room. Charlotte as so busy with her little impromptu performance, that she didn't notice her new audience.

….

Chibs was the first to walk out and at first he just glared at the fiery curls that belonged to the lass doing the prospect's job. He was about to walk over and say something to her and put her in her place when she turned around. His mouth dropped open.

"Lottie?"

Charlotte smiled at him. He couldn't believe his eyes. Was that little Lottie standing in their clubhouse all grown up? He'd know those emerald eyes anywhere. That lass was their Lottie. He opened his arms and she came running over to him, hugging him.

"Lottie! Welcome home! We missed ya around here! Been a long time since any o' us heard from you little one. We didn' know if you were even alive. Good ta see ya, Lass."

He held the lass in his arms a moment longer and then released her, turning to the others.

"Look who finally found her way home ta us, fellas!" he told the room.

Clay hugged her and welcomed her back, followed by Tig and Bobby. Happy didn't know her so he just stayed in the back of the group. Jax smiled when he saw her and ran up to her, picking her up and swinging her around.

"Look at you! All grown up and shit! Last time I saw you, you were just a little girl. Welcome home, Darling." He kissed her on the forehead as he set her back down on the floor.

….

Charlotte couldn't help but smile as she was greeted by the fellas she called family. She looked over and saw Juice looking confused. She giggled and then mouthed to him that she'd explain later. Her smile faded when she heard a familiar voice. She knew that tone…he was angry with her.

"CHARLOTTE ANN MCCARTHY!"

Charlotte hung her head a bit, suddenly finding the floor interesting as Piney step up in front of her. She peeked up at him shyly. He had every right to be upset with her. She'd had no contact with him in years except the one phone call to tell him that her mother, his sister had died. Without realizing it, Charlotte gently checked to make sure her hoodie sleeves were covering her wrists completely. Sighing, she looked up into the angry eyes of her uncle.

"Hi, Uncle Piney…" she said quietly having went into a more docile and submissive mode almost instantly.

The other guys watched in silence, Jax putting a comforting hand on her shoulder and kind of glaring at Piney for yelling at her. She didn't admit it to any of them, but she was grateful to Jax for doing that. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at her uncle and waited for him to say something.

"Where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea how worried I've been about you? I haven't heard from you since you called and told me your mother died. And before that, nobody had heard from you since you turned 18." Piney yelled at her.

She threw her arms around Piney and mumbled a reply as she hugged him for dear life.

"I'm so sorry. I was dealing with some stuff and just…didn't know how to reach out. I was worried about how you'd feel or what everyone here would think of me. I don't want to talk about any of it. It's in the past. Can you just be happy that I'm home now? Please? I need my family. I love you, Uncle Piney. Please don't be cross with me."

Piney sighed and then cracked a smile.

"Welcome home my little Lottie Ann. I've missed you. I'm sure Ope is gonna be happy to have you home as well. You know you've always been more like a daughter to me than a niece and more like a sister than a cousin to Ope." The old man said to her and then released the hug.

Charlotte smiled and looked around the room. Clay stepped up once more and she looked at him, tilting her head like a curious puppy.

….

Juice watched as Clay stepped up to Charlotte. Without thinking, he moved to her side, feeling a bit protective of her for some reason. What the hell was wrong with him? He'd just met this girl last night and she hadn't even told him that she was family of the club. He noticed Jax was standing there on her other side like a big brother protecting his sister.

He almost laughed when he watched the cutest thing ever, Lottie had tilted her head to the side like a curious puppy when Clay stepped up to her.

"What were you doing with that broom, young lady? You know the damn rules around here. Cleaning is the prospect's job! Did he put you up to helping him? Don't you dare lie to me to protect him." Clay said trying to keep a stern tone but failing.

Juice couldn't hold the laugh in when he saw her smile innocently at Clay and respond.

"You see, Uncle Clay, I walked out here and the floor cried and begged me to sweep it and I just couldn't help but feel bad for it so I got the broom and helped the poor floor out! Mr. Prospect tried to tell me not to, I think, but I couldn't hear him over my music." She giggled as she answered him.

All the guys laughed and Juice decided he really was going to enjoy having this girl around. No one could get away with giving Clay that much sass but apparently she could. Clay had just cracked a smile and hugged the girl when she sassed him. Yup, this girl was going to make things interesting and he hoped she stayed there for a while.

….

Charlotte jumped when Jax swatted her on the arse jokingly after she sassed Clay.

"Behave, Lottiebug! I see you haven't lost your sassiness. Does Ma know you're home?" Jax smiled at Charlotte as she rubbed her behind.

"Not yet, I got in late last night. It would have been even later if Juice hadn't happened to ride by me…" Charlotte replied.

Jax looked at her curiously and motioned for her to explain. She sighed and grabbed his hand, pulling Jax out to the garage.

"You see this beautiful beast?" she asked while pointing at her truck.

Jax nodded and waited for her to explain.

"Well, that is my baby only she decided to be a little bitch and tried leaving me stranded on the highway just about 2 miles outside Charming last night. I decided to throw some stuff in my backpack, locker her up, and walk. I was walking down the side of the road, when Juice road by and stopped. I noticed that his kutte and decided to hitch a ride. After that, the prospect, Juicy, and I took the wrecker back and towed my baby back here." Charlotte looked at Jax and smiled sheepishly.

She knew he'd be upset about her walking alone at night but what else could she have done. Stay in her truck? Hell no! Jax just shook his head and began scolding her.

"Lottiebug! What the hell were you thinking? ! None of us knew you were even coming. What if something bad had happened to you? We'd never have known. I had better not catch you walking around by yourself again. Do you understand me?" Jax scolded before pulling her into a tight hug.

Jax was like a big brother to her and she knew he was just worried about her. She smiled as she hugged him back. He had used his old nickname for her.

"Sorry, Jaxy. It was either that or stay the night in my truck on the side of the highway. I just thought walking would be safer. I'll try not to let it happen again."

Jax grinned. "Welcome home, Little Lottiebug! I'll take a look at your truck when I get back. The boys and I gotta go take care of some club business. Please don't go anywhere while we're gone, okay?"

Charlotte nodded just as Clay yelled that it was time to go. She stood there as they all got on their bikes and headed out, Juice waving at her as he left. Smiling happily, she skipped into the clubhouse to hang out with Half-Sack and her Uncle Piney since he had stayed behind.

"Welcome home, Lottie" she whispered to herself as the door to the clubhouse closed behind her.


End file.
